Mutual Benefit Life Insurance v. Cannon

48 Ind. 264
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 15, 1874
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 48 Ind. 264 (Mutual Benefit Life Insurance v. Cannon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mutual Benefit Life Insurance v. Cannon, 48 Ind. 264 (Ind. 1874).

Opinions

Biddle, J.

Suit on life policy. Emily J. Cannon, on the 1st day of July, 1868, being desirous of effecting an insurance on the life of her husband, John R. Cannon, for her own benefit, made a “ declaration ” accordingly to the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company, agreeing therein that the answers of said John R. Cannon, and those of his physician and friend, should be the basis of the contract between herself and the company; and that if any untrue or fraudulent allegation was contained in those answers or in her “ declaration,” all moneys which were paid to said company on account of assurance made in consequence thereof should be forfeited for the benefit of the company.

The questions, among others, put by the company to John R. Cannon, and the answers thereto, were as follows:

“ Ques. 10. Has the party had, since childhood, disease of the heart, rupture, fits, dropsy, liver complaint, bilious colic, rheumatism, gout, habitual cough, bronchitis, asthma, spitting of blood, consumption, paralysis, apoplexy, insanity, fistula, ulcers, or disease of the kidneys or bladder, and which?

“ Ans. No.

“ Ques. 11. Has^the party had any sickness within the last ten years? if so, what?

“ Ans. Erysipelas, in 1863; severe cold this spring.

“ Ques. 12. Has the party now any disease or disorder? if so, what ?

“Ans. No.

“ Ques. 15. Has any company declined to insure the party? if so, what company, when, and for what reason ?

“Ans. No.”

The question, among others, put to Peleg M. Wilcox, the examining physician, concerning John R. Cannon’s condition, and the answer to it, were as follows:

“ Ques. 4. Has he at any time had apoplexy, insanity, rheumatism, gout, dropsy, bilious colic, palsy, symptoms of the disease of the heart, liver, or kidneys, aneurism, rupture, spitting of blood, asthma, chronic cough, affection of the lungs [267]*267or other viscera, varicose or other ulcers, or any organic disease ?

“Answer. No.”

These were the only questions .and answers put specially in issue.

The pleadings were as follows: Complaint. Demurrer to the complaint for want of sufficient facts overruled. Exception.

Answer : 1. General denial.

2. That Emily J. Cannon applied to the company to obtain a policy on the life of John R. Cannon; that she made her “ declaration ” accordingly, and answered certain questions therein; that John R. Cannon made answers to questions 10, 11, 12, and 15, as above; that Peleg M. Wilcox, the examining physician, made answer to question 4, as above; that George H. Deval, the friend of John R. Cannon, made answers to certain questions; that it was'agreed that said “declaration,” questions, and answers should be the basis of the contract of insurance; that the principal office of said company is in the city of Newark, and State of New Jersey; that the company relied on said statements and answers as the basis and warranty of said contract; that the answers of John R, Cannon to questions 10, 11, 12, and 15 were untrue; that the answer of Releg M. Wilcox to question 4 was untrue, stating wherein; all of which is formally alleged, with proper-negatives.

3. Similar to 2, except that it omits question 15 and Cannon’s answer thereto, and question 4, with Wilcox’s answer, and alleges that Cannon well knew that his answers to questions 10, 11, and 12 were false.

4. Substantially the same as the third, with the allegation that the answers to questions 10, 11, and 12 were “ false and fraudulent,” by which the appellant was deceived.

With the fourth paragraph there was also filed an interrogatory; which paragraph and the interrogatory, on motion and over objection, were stricken out by the court. Exception.

[268]*268Replies in denial were filed to the second and third paragraphs of answer.

Upon these issues the cause was tried by a jury. General verdict for appellee for ten thousand six hundred and seventy-seven dollars and fifty cents, and answers to special interrogatories 3 and 5. Motion by appellant for fuller answers to interrogatories 3 and 5. Objection. Overruled. Exception. Motion for new trial. Overruled. Motion in arrest of judgment. Overruled. Exceptions. Judgment on the verdict. Appeal.

The errors assigned are :

1. Overruling appellant’s motion to have the complaint made more specific.

2. Overruling the demurrer to the complaint.

3. Striking out the fourth paragraph of answer.

4. Striking out the interrogatory filed with the fourth paragraph of answer.

5. Refusing to require the jury to more fully answer interrogatories 3 and 5, propounded to them.

6. Overruling the motion for a new trial.

In support of the first assigned error, it is insisted that the consideration for the policy is not sufficiently set forth in the complaint. The language is, “ in consideration of the sum of three hundred and eighty-seven dollars in money then and there paid to her, and a like amount to be paid to her annually on the 1st day of July in every year,” etc. This is substantially in the words of the policy and is sufficient. It was not necessary to set out the accruing obligations, if any such were separately given. It is also insisted, that the declaration ’’ of Emily J. Cannon made to procure the policy should have been set forth in the complaint. This paper was not the foundation of the action, and therefore need not to have been made an exhibit. The Commonwealth’s Insurance Co. v. Monninger, 18 Ind. 352.

In support of the second error alleged by the appellant, it is insisted that the appellee’s declaration ” was a part of the contract, and therefore should have been alleged in the complaint. Leij it be considered a part of the contract—it was not a part which the appellee was bound to aver in her com[269]*269plaint. It belongs rather to the defence. The paper was the obligation of the appellee, and belongs properly to the appellant. The declaration” might be useful as an instrument of evidence, but it was not necessary to make it a part of the complaint. It is further shown that the copy of the policy made an exhibit in the complaint was neither signed nor countersigned. Assuming this to be a fatal defect at the time, it was afterward healed by amending the exhibit on trial, according to the original policy. There was no error in overruling the demurrer to the complaint.

Striking out the fourth paragraph of the appellant’s answer is insisted on as the third error. We can discover no substantial difference between the third and fourth paragraphs of the answer. It was therefore no error to strike out the fourth. The same evidence could have been introduced under either.

Nor was it error, as is insisted by the fourth assignment, to strike out the interrogatory put to the appellee and filed with the fourth paragraph of answer. The interrogatory was in these words:

At the time of making application for insurance with the defendant upon the life of said John R. Cannon, and at the time when the said John R. Cannon signed the answers to interrogatories, which appear in exhibit B,’ did you not know that the said John R.

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Bluebook (online)
48 Ind. 264, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mutual-benefit-life-insurance-v-cannon-ind-1874.